Chapter 76: I Beg You

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: I Beg You

Su Wan saw that Xu Jianjun and his companion hadn’t left. Instead, they were squatting at the entrance of a nearby alley, staring at the military jeep.

She wasn’t worried, though. She didn’t think there was much the two of them could do.

And just as she expected, Xu Jianjun and his friend didn’t see the so-called little boy they were waiting for. Instead, they saw Lu Zhengchuan—who looked like someone you shouldn’t mess with and was carrying a real weapon—return to the vehicle.

When Su Wan looked up again, the two had vanished.

"What are you looking at?" Lu Zhengchuan followed her gaze and only caught a glimpse of Xu Jianjun and his companion’s backs as they retreated.

Su Wan told Lu Zhengchuan what had just happened. "I don’t know if they were actually looking for someone, or if they saw the military jeep and were hoping to take advantage of something."

After hearing her story, Lu Zhengchuan’s expression immediately turned cold. He instructed Su Wan, "Keep your self-defense weapon handy. I’m going to have a patrol officer stand over here."

He didn’t wait for Su Wan’s reply, immediately turning and heading into the train station. In the blink of an eye, a patrol officer was standing beside Su Wan’s jeep, perfectly positioned for his patrol route.

Naturally, no troublemakers dared to approach the military jeep after that.

Su Wan saw Lu Zhengchuan chase after Xu Jianjun and his companion in the direction they had fled.

She wasn’t too worried. After all, Lu Zhengchuan was carrying a real weapon.

While she was waiting, Su Wan glanced out the window. Seeing no immediate danger, she opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle.

"Excuse me, Officer, is there a restroom in the train station?"

The patrol officer pointed in a certain direction for Su Wan.

Su Wan saw that it was next to the train station.

There were a lot of people standing around over there, including some hooligans who looked just like Xu Jianjun. She frowned, deciding it would be better to wait and use the restroom at the state-run restaurant.

She really didn’t feel safe going over there. If she ran into some reckless person and got pushed, even lightly, it could easily lead to an accident.

So, Su Wan turned and walked back.

As she reached the jeep and was about to pull the door open, she felt the vehicle shake slightly.

Su Wan’s eyes immediately filled with caution and alertness.

Without drawing attention to herself, she deliberately dropped her handkerchief on the ground as she fumbled in her handbag.

Su Wan took a couple of steps, then said, "I’m pregnant... Officer, could you please help me pick up my handkerchief?"

Hearing this, the patrol officer stepped forward and bent down to pick it up. "Of course. Ma’am, please be careful. The train station is crowded with all sorts of people; it would be terrible if someone bumped into you."

"Okay, thank you for your concern." As Su Wan spoke, her gaze fell to the space underneath the jeep.

Just as the officer bent down to get the handkerchief, there was a sudden movement under the otherwise still military jeep. A grimy little boy crawled out from underneath.

Su Wan stared at him, her guard lowering slightly. She instantly guessed who he was—he was probably the very child Xu Jianjun and his friend had been looking for.

However, even if they hadn’t been lying about looking for a boy, Su Wan’s intuition told her that those two were not good people.

So, she certainly wasn’t going to voluntarily tell them about the boy’s whereabouts.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing under a car? Don’t you know how dangerous that is?" The officer anxiously went over, pulled him out, and gave his bottom a light, exasperated pat.

"Officer, I need to file a report!" The little boy, who looked to be about seven or eight years old, lunged forward and hugged the officer’s leg.

His face was so grimy you couldn’t make out his features at all, only that he wasn’t skinny.

Not wanting to get involved, Su Wan saw that the officer was taking the boy seriously. She prepared to turn and get back in the jeep to wait for Lu Zhengchuan.

"Big sister," the little boy called out, stopping her.

Su Wan turned to look at him, her gaze unintentionally landing on a leather bag he was clutching tightly. But she didn’t ask about it, simply saying, "Don’t be afraid. This officer is a good man. If you need help with anything, you can go with him to the police station in a little while."

"Big sister, I believe you. Thank you for helping me just now. If it weren’t for you, those two bad guys would have caught me."

The little boy spoke clearly. "My name is Liu Shu. Big sister, can you help me with one more thing? My dad will repay you."

Su Wan saw no calculation in his eyes, but rather a deep-seated confidence.

It seemed the father he spoke of was quite a capable person.

But if his father was so capable, why was he in such a sorry state?

Still, it matched the fact that he had a sturdy, not at all scrawny, build. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What is it?" Su Wan’s curiosity was piqued, and she asked.

Liu Shu pointed to the military jeep behind her, his eyes filled with admiration and fondness.

Vehicles were rare in those days. At a bustling train station, it wasn’t just children—even adults couldn’t help but stare at a car.

So, Liu Shu’s reaction wasn’t surprising.

"Big sister, I want to borrow your family’s car to go pick up my dad."

Su Wan shook her head. "I’m sorry, no. This is a military vehicle, it can’t be used for personal matters. Besides, your father can walk back or take a train. Or you could borrow a tricycle to bring him back."

Although Su Wan refused, she still offered him solutions, which was very thoughtful of her.

Liu Shu wasn’t disappointed by her response. Instead, he tugged on the patrol officer’s sleeve and said, "Officer, big sister, the reason those hooligans were chasing me is because my dad is a driver for the Qingyang Clam Paste Factory. There was a landslide on the road, and the truck is mostly buried. Luckily, my dad and Uncle Wang weren’t hurt."

"My dad and the others are staying behind to guard the truck and the cargo. I brought the letter of introduction to the nearest county town to find help."

"But who would have thought, I made it to the county town safely, only to be targeted by a group of hooligans. I often ride along with my dad on his truck routes, so one of the hooligans, a guy named Xu Jianjun, recognized me. When he saw I was alone, he got a bad idea and wanted to grab me to find out where my dad was."

"At first, I thought this ’uncle’ was being kind, so I let him take me to the police station."

"I never expected he actually had a wicked plan. He wanted to go to the site of my dad’s accident, gather up all the spilled clam paste, and secretly sell it for money."

"I overheard them when I went to pee, so I found a way to escape. They were afraid I’d leak the news and the police would find out, so they came after me... If you hadn’t helped me, big sister, they definitely would have caught me." No matter how logical Liu Shu’s explanation was, his voice started to choke up, showing just how much he had suffered on his journey.

Su Wan subconsciously reached out and ruffled his hair.

Liu Shu felt a wave of motherly affection and couldn’t help but nuzzle against her palm.

"Officer, how do you think this should be handled?" Su Wan didn’t mind helping Liu Shu, provided his story was true. But then again, she figured the boy wouldn’t dare lie in front of a police officer.

The officer told her the truth. "The police department has to handle this by the book, which means following procedure. We’d have to verify Liu Shu’s identity first. The problem is, the station doesn’t have a car right now. Trying to get there before those hooligans... I can’t guarantee we could do it."

Liu Shu grew anxious when he heard this.

After all, some places were still quite lawless back then.

If those hooligans got there first, what would happen to his dad and Uncle Wang?

As long as there was no evidence, those hooligans were brazen enough to do anything. He remembered once, when he was with his dad, they had almost been robbed on a small road.

"Big sister, please, I’m begging you to help me."

Liu Shu pleaded, his eyes red-rimmed.

Su Wan parted her lips, about to speak, when Lu Zhengchuan returned.